She's Still Here Somewhere
by Sparkfire
Summary: Josh searches for a way to find his mother again now that Marlene’s makeup stand at Bloomingdale’s doesn’t work. Semisequel to Vote for Larry, which is the sequel to The Gospel According to Larry.


**Disclaimer:** Larry is owned by Josh Swensen, Beth is owned by Beth, and I'm not sure if it's real or fiction but I'll say Janet Tashjian owns everything, including the footnotes.

**Summary:** Josh searches for a way to find his mother again now that Marlene's makeup stand at Bloomingdale's doesn't work. Semi-sequel to Vote for Larry, which is the sequel to The Gospel According to Larry.

"Mom?" I sat back down into my favorite stool next to Marlene's counter at Bloomingdale's, back home in Boston for once in my hectic life (1).

"Hi there, Honey," Marlene came up to me and patted my shoulder. "There aren't very many people here, but I'm sure she'll talk to you." She walked away to a customer.

"Mom, can you hear me?" I closed my eyes so that I could listen more carefully. "I'm just wondering, now that I'm happy, are you? I mean, I've done a lot of things, but have you forgiven me? Are you happy with me?"

Nothing. I was wondering if she wasn't happy with me. But I assured myself that it was probably just because she didn't want to talk to me inside Bloomingdale's anymore (2). So I set out to find another place to talk to her.

Apparently I'd have to go someplace public, since that's the only way I could hear her. I searched everywhere-from the top to bottom of Boston, with my highlighted guidebook in hand (3). I remembered this one place that was as special to Mom as the counter at Bloomingdale's-the public library.

Mom and I _loved_ the public library. She'd take me there about every other day or whenever she messed up the house and I had to do homework. Both of us had probably scaled the shelves like we were climbing Mount Everest in the years we were together. But there was no Marlene to comfort me.

I sat alone. Everything changed in the years I was gone-the comfy beanbag chairs I would bounce in, the New Releases rack by the Independent Readers' section-even the colors of the walls had changed from a bold vermillion to bland white. Mom would be furious.

Still, I felt that I could truly find her here. I sat down at a wooden table after picking up a book from the New Releases rack and closed my eyes (4).

"Mom, can you hear me now?" I asked finally, after meditating on the question.

Nothing.

"Mom, I just have a couple questions. I need to talk to you."

Still nothing.

I was heartbroken. I thought that Mom would find some way to talk to me. She was truly gone-not gone like any of the library books, but gone like Janine. It pierced me like a thousand stabbing knives.

In frustration, I grabbed my bag, leaving the book on the table.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the librarian that had McKenzie written on her nametag said.

"I'm sorry, I'll re-shelve it," I turned to the table.

"No," she shook her head quickly, as if she had something important to say afterward. "I wouldn't leave without reading the book." She grinned as if she knew something I didn't.

"Alright," I relented, setting my bag down and slowly opening the book.

The title words _I'll Always Be Here_ were on the cover page. My eyes welled up with tears. My mom really did find a way to speak to me. I quickly grabbed the book and asked if I could check it out.

"You're that Larry kid, right?" she asked as she scanned the book.

"Yeah, I'm sorry to say that I am," I quickly sniffled to hold back the already falling tears.

"I'll give you this book for free, then," she handed it to me. "Focus on the issues at hand. I know you really can change the world." She gave me that same grin and walked away.

After a week of vision questing through the back forests in Massachusetts, I came back to pay a visit to the library. I quickly went to the front desk.

"Hi, is Mrs. McKenzie here?" I asked to a young woman working the desk.

"She quit work a couple days ago," the young woman responded bluntly, not lifting her head to look at me (5). "Said she had 'unfinished business' or whatever."

I thought about what had happened and shook my head, grinning. I gave back the book, which was completely overdue, and explained what happened.

"She did leave behind a book for a certain Joshua Swensen," the girl handed the book to me after taking a look at my ID. Grinning, I quickly grabbed the book and sat down at the same wooden table.

_Take me with you! she said._ the excerpt from the book stated. _Please! I promise I'll never leave you! I understand what you're going through, and you can't possibly do it alone!_

Tears flowed freely this time, and I let them as I ran all the way back home and told Peter what happened.

"I guess I was right," he shook his head, grinning. "You didn't need Chanel to tell you where your mom was."

"I still have to wonder," I responded, "if she'll ever stop talking to me."

"As long as you never forget about her, I'm sure she never will. After all this time on the road, I mean, she's still spoken to you. That's perseverance."

For once, I knew what those words meant (6).

(1) After I ran for president, I went on the road to find Janine. I found her in an agonizing reunion but she couldn't take me back.

(2) That doesn't mean that the thought of her not speaking to me was agonizing. I almost cried if I didn't remember that nobody understood what I was doing in the first place.

(3) Even though I've been around Boston a lot, that doesn't mean I don't want to see the tourist attractions.

(4) Apparently, the point of a library is to open your eyes and read, so I felt the librarian give me a cross look through her pince-nez glasses.

(5) I mean, at the very least she could look at me…

(7) You don't need to peruse a dictionary to find a word's meaning for you.

**A/N:** Thanks for reading! Just if you were wondering-in the spirit of the Larry books, I put in footnotes.


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